


vegan nut mylk

by hobijam



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, First Dates, Insomnia, M/M, also i wrote this in a stream of thought kind of way so it isnt like the style i usually write in, i usually am annoyed by coffeeshop aus but here's my second one hmm., if that makes sense, its more informal, wonshik is a softie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-04 13:13:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11555931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobijam/pseuds/hobijam
Summary: Jaehwan's an insomniac that wants almond milk in his coffee. Wonshik is on the overnight shift and he only has soy.





	vegan nut mylk

It’s three a.m. and Jaehwan is awake.   
Not unusual.   
His sedatives prescription ran out months ago, and the doctor never bothered to renew it. He’s on his own with himself, and usually ends up staring at the ceiling until midnight, then roaming the streets. His neighborhood is never as quiet as it is at this time. Everyone is sleeping. Nightlights cast ghostly light through drawn curtains, metal gates over store fronts creak when the odd car goes by. Even the few homeless men of the neighborhood are asleep, huddled under storefront awnings and back-alley doorsteps. Jaehwan feels almost like a ghost passing through the world, leaving vestigial traces of his existence behind when he steps in a puddle or kicks around some litter. The world he is in now is different from the world it becomes during waking hours.   
It’s three a.m. and Jaehwan is in a 24hour coffeeshop.   
Unusual.   
He doesn’t usually like to interact with people when he’s awake at night. The ones who are up are not really the kind he wants to talk to. He prefers to remain a ghost, just observe what’s around him, pass through the world and leave no indication that he was ever around.   
But shit, Jaehwan really wants coffee.   
Unsurprisingly, the store is empty but for one barista, who is boredly messing around with one of the machines. It doesn’t seem like he knows Jaehwan is in the room, because he upends a can of whipped cream into his mouth and makes a pile taller than his nose. Sensing an opportunity, Jaehwan clears his throat.   
“Hello.”   
Whipping around, the man chokes, and sprays whipped cream all over the register. Some even gets onto Jaehwan’s hoodie, but he doesn’t regret the moment because of the way the barista stares at him, mortified, mouth opening and closing like a fish on land.   
“Are you busy?” Jaehwan stretches the embarrassment a little further, smiling widely at the red-faced man. Jaehwan spots his nametag, and life just gets better. “I can come back later if you want, _Ravswag_.”  
“Wait how did you- _Fuck_.” Ravswag clutches his name tag like he wants to rip it off, and then probably remembers that Jaehwan is a customer. “Sorry, uh... What can I get for you?”   
“Latte please. Almond milk.” Jaehwan roots around in his pocket for some cash, pulling out a dubiously stained bill and handing it over.   
Ravswag doesn’t seem to see it, and is staring at the cup in his hands. His face is red again.   
“Uh, we’re out of almond milk. Can I give you soy?”   
_Ew no kill me._ “Sure, yeah.” Jaehwan agrees, and Ravswag finally takes the cash.   
“Oh, right! What’s your name?”   
Jaehwan pulls a face. “I’m the only one in here?”   
Ravswag raises his eyebrows unrelentingly. A devious smile comes onto Jaehwan’s face.   
“Yung Kenswag. Like Barbie’s boyfriend.”   
The joke is only funny to Jaehwan. Ravswag- he looks like he wants to die.   
“Please choose a different name.”   
“No.”   
“Please.”   
“No my name is Yung Kenswag.”   
“P l e a s e.”   
Ravswag is practically melting into a puddle of embarrassment onto the floor, so Jaehwan relents. “Fine. I’m Jaehwan. What’s your name?”   
“Wonshik.” Scribbling down Jaehwan’s name, he smiles. “I’m Wonshik.”   
Jaehwan follows Wonshik with his eyes as he moves around among the crowded coffee machines. He’s left his phone at home, so the options of things to do while he waits for his coffee are either to make conversation, or stare weirdly at Wonshik like the sleep-deprived psycho he probably thinks Jaehwan is.   
He chooses the former.   
“So how did you get a name like Ravswag?” Jaehwan leans onto the counter, watching Wonshik steam some nasty soy milk and pour it into the shot of espresso in his cup.   
“Please never say that again.” Wonshik’s voice sounds like he’s resigned to a life of hell. “My demon coworker won in a bet. We were deciding who was going to have to be Ravswag or Hyukdiddy.”   
“How’d you lose?”   
Wonshik passes Jaehwan’s coffee over. “I’m a lightweight.”   
“Lucky you. Um. Thanks.” Laughing lightly, Jaehwan accepts the drink, looking Wonshik over for the first time. He’s actually pretty attractive. Droopy eyes, nice build, deep voice... It must be Jaehwan‘s under-rested, delirious mind, but yeah, Ravswag is hot.  
“Are you leaving so soon?” Wonshik asks, and Jaehwan considers staying. He’s not got much else to do. If he were to go home, he would just be watching whatever is bad enough to not be played on the TV at a normal time, or staring at the trees in a nearby park again. But Wonshik... Jaehwan feels a little uncertain. He’s never really talked to people he thinks are good looking. He always makes it a little weird. Or a lot weird. But he plans to come back. The coffee here is good, and sometimes caffeine actually helps him sleep. So maybe he shouldn’t fuck up their first meeting too much.   
“Actually, I’ve gotta go.”   
Is that disappointment that crosses Wonshik’s features?   
“Right, of course. You’re a customer, yeah uh. Have a good night- or, morning. I don’t know.” Wonshik smiles, really smiles, and it’s so soft and cute and Jaehwan really wants to stay-   
“Yeah, you too. Thanks.”   
Unsurprisingly, Jaehwan doesn’t sleep the rest of the night. But the coffee is nice even though soy milk is gross.

 

\---

 

Jaehwan doesn’t want to be overbearing, so when he’s up the next night again, he decides to settle for some canned convenience store coffee instead, which really isn’t bad except for the fact it has real milk in it and he’s really going to feel the pain from it in a few hours. He ends up getting a little lost. He hasn’t slept at all in four nights and doesn’t think he will tonight. His mind... Isn’t in the best state. He doesn’t want to make an idiot of himself in front of Wonshik for some reason. Usually he’s fine with people seeing him like this but Wonshik...   
Jaehwan wants to keep a good impression. He thinks he seemed pretty cool last night when he made Wonshik all red faced and embarrassed. Gotta stay cool. _Yeah_.   
The night is uneventful for him. He wanders like usual, singing to himself in between sips of his coffee. His voice is wobbly and uncertain. It’s not like how it used to be, but again: he hasn’t slept in four days. He can’t find any peace tonight. The walls of the buildings on either side of the streets seem too close, and the fact that the city smog makes the night sky clouded and yellow makes Jaehwan feel like he’s choking.   
In the end, he goes home and gets drunk. He doesn’t like to drink very much, because when he does, it’s to get blackout drunk and fall asleep, not to have fun with some friends. Oh well. He’s gotta do what he’s gotta do, even if it’s doing something his mother would definitely not approve of to fix an ailment she doesn’t believe in.   
He sleeps through the rest of the night, and through his classes the next day. Not much is lost- he hates music theory anyway.

 

\---

 

“Ravswag!” Jaehwan saunters into the empty coffee shop three days- or nights- after he first met the barista. He’s well rested tonight, but his body is still on a schedule to be up at this hour. He’s always been okay with the fact, but knowing that Wonshik stays up at this time too makes it a little more bearable.   
However, said man, alone in the shop, seizes up at the name and turns around to stare at Jaehwan. His eyes go up and down Jaehwan’s frame, but it’s detached, like he’s trying... to figure out who Jaehwan is? Does he not recognize Jaehwan? Did he just make a fool of himself or seem like a stalker when he called Wonshik by that stupid name? Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-   
“Oh, Jaehwan!” Wonshik finally replies, laughing awkwardly. His smile is genuine, but Jaehwan knows that he really didn’t recognize him. “I’m sorry I didn’t... You look really different. Did you... do anything?”   
Right. The last time Jaehwan had been in, he’d been three nights without a wink of sleep and still in his clothes from the day before. He must have looked like an absolute zombie- he’s seen himself in the mirror during those times- sagging skin, lank hair, deep, dark bruises under his eyes. So maybe he didn’t look very cool to Wonshik. Maybe he looked more like an undead creature trying to be witty.   
“I got blackout drunk and slept like a baby for twenty hours.” Surprising himself, Jaehwan spits out his answer. “Amazing what some Svedka will do for you.   
Wonshik pulls a face, maybe to hide his surprise. “Svedka tastes like paint thinner, but I’m glad you got some sleep. Are you sure you want coffee though?”   
Jaehwan rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m an insomniac. Caffeine won’t do shit compared to what my fucked up circadian rhythm is already doing to me.”   
“Right.” Wonshik smiles at Jaehwan, contently shoving his hands into his pockets like he’s happy to just _look_ at him. Happy enough to almost forget what his job is. “Oh! Right! Coffee. Do you want a latte with soy milk?”   
“Almond?” Jaehwan mimicks Wonshik’s inquisitory tone, lifting his head and smiling cutely. That’s one thing he’s always been good at- Lee Jaehwan is the self-proclaimed king of cute.   
“Ah, sorry.” Wonshik reaches up like he’s going to mess with a hat, but realizes that there isn’t one on his head and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “We still don’t have any.”   
“Fine, fine, I’ll just die then.”   
“Lactaid?”   
“I suppose, but not even that can save me. I need... Almond milk.”   
Wonshik reaches over to lightly punch Jaehwan in the arm, laughing. “Boy- we don’t have-” His face pales midsentence, realizing he’s probably overstepped the bounds of a customer-employee relationship. “Sorry, we um. We don’t have almond milk and I’m very sorry about that.”   
He focuses harder than he needs to on writing Jaehwan’s name on his cup, hunched over and probably chiding himself.   
“You’re good.” Jaehwan can’t help it. It’s his turn to lean over the register and pat Wonshik on the back. “I don’t mind lactaid tonight. I also don’t mind talking.. To you?” The end of the sentence comes out awkwardly.   
“Hah... Cool.” Tension melts off Wonshik’s shoulders, making Jaehwan smile fondly.   
Wait what. Jaehwan barely knows the guy, why does he care if he’s comfortable or not? Why does he feel happy just to know Wonshik knows he wants to talk to him? What is this? Feelings?!  
“So, Wonshik, what keeps you up at night?” Jaehwan asks as Wonshik works on his drink.   
Wonshik pauses in the middle of pouring the lactaid, as if thinking. “Y’know, I picked up the shift when I was in school. All my classes were in the afternoon so I decided to work a night shift and sleep in the morning. Of course, I dropped out a year ago.” He laughs a little self-deprecatingly. “Maybe I’m an insomniac too. I just like to be up at these times now.”   
“Ew, I don’t.” Jaehwan leans against the divider, accepting his latte. “Why’d you drop out?” Jaehwan realizes the depth of his question too late. He’s met Wonshik twice. What’s he doing, asking for a life story? What if Wonshik is just being friendly? What if this is his job... He _did_ get informal with Jaehwan though. Obviously he thought it wasn’t appropriate because he changed the tone, so maybe...   
“Sorry.” Jaehwan corrects himself, hiding his face behind his coffee cup as he takes a sip.   
“No, no it’s uh.” Wonshik wipes his hands on a dishrag around his waist, and settles into a stool behind the counter. “I just ran out of money. My parents said music wouldn’t get me anywhere, so wouldn’t help pay for school, and I guess they were right? My producing hasn’t done much for me financially yet, and I just couldn’t pay for school anymore.”   
“I’m sorry.” Jaehwan means it. He’s minoring in music, and the only think keeping him back from majoring is a fear that he’ll end up... well, like Wonshik. Working some minimum wage job and wishing for his music to take off. Not that he thinks low of Wonshik- no, he actually thinks better of him for it. He went after his dream and wouldn’t settle for anything less. That’s a mark of someone Jaehwan wants to get to know. “Do you post your music anywhere? I’d like to hear it.”   
“Why?” Wonshik spits out coldly, almost automatically. Jaehwan is surprised, and a little bit hurt, and it must show on his face, because Wonshik quickly changes tones. “Sorry, I’m just- I’m not used to people actually caring. I’m a little bit of a joke with my coworkers. They think I’m like a Soundcloud rapper or something.” Quickly, he holds out his hands, like he’s trying to stop Jaehwan from thinking something. “Which I’m not- I rap, yeah, and I put my music on Soundcloud but I’m not-”   
“Not one of those guys.” Jaehwan smiles. “I can tell. Don’t worry. But really, what’s your Soundcloud username?”   
“KimRavi.”   
Jaehwan pulls out his phone, hands it over expectantly. Wonshik looks a little surprised, but takes it and types on it anyways. Jaehwan trusts him enough to let him on his phone, sure.   
“Ever thought of needing a singer?” Jaehwan tries to keep going. He’s a singer, he likes to think. He’s never done anything other than record for his classes, and perform in musicals, but maybe- if Wonshik needs the help- maybe he could do it? And maybe he could spend more time with Wonshik? “I mean, I sing a little for my minor in music, and like, producers sometimes work with singers, and I don’t even need you to pay me and you should just say no so I don’t have to keep awkwardly trying to hype myself up...”   
“No, uh, yeah.” Wonshik’s eyes are wide, a gentle smile forming on his face. If Jaehwan weren’t disappointed by the rejection, he’d feel like swooning. “I mean, I’ve never thought of finding a singer, but I do have some stuff that would work with that... Would you really?”   
“Yes!” Jaehwan almost yells, and catches himself, quieting down. He feels like he’s vibrating with excitement. He’s going to sing! And work with Wonshik! “I’d love to!”   
Wonshik is fully smiling now, laughing with Jaehwan in a sweet way that’s just the opposite of his deep voice and stern looks.

 

\---

 

Jaehwan ends up coming back to Wonshik’s coffee shop every night for a solid week, in which he also manages to sleep for about twelve hours total. Every night, Wonshik apologizes for not having almond milk. And every night, Wonshik looks a little more worried over Jaehwan’s state of being.   
“Almond milk?”   
“Uhhhhhh. How about soy milk?”  
“Almond milk.”   
“Breast milk!”   
“Ew... but maybe.”   
“What no way.”   
“Hey I haven’t tried it maybe I won’t get the shits if it’s human?”   
“That’s... weird.”   
“Hey.”

 

\---

  
It’s on Sunday night after this sleepless week that things change. Jaehwan’s gotten a good seven hours in one night, thanks to going out and drinking by himself, but that’s not important. Tonight, something’s off. Wonshik looks a little too excited, a little devious. Something’s going on in his head that Jaehwan isn’t privy to. It’s a little alarming, considering he’s making Jaehwan’s coffee, that he is going to ingest into his body.   
“What’s wrong with you?” Jaehwan tried to bat Wonshik on the shoulder when he walks by the counter to get to the espresso machine. He carefully dodges, giggling to himself in a stupid, self-satisfied way.   
“No-thing!” He responds. “My lovely friend, today is a beautiful day!”   
“It’s four a.m.”   
“Look at that beautiful rainbow outside!” Wonshik jumps, pointing excitedly behind Jaehwan.  
“Wait what the fuck-” Turning, Jaehwan stares out into a black, empty street, the glow of the coffee shop windows barely permeating the darkness. “Liar what do you mean-” When he glances back to Wonshik, he sees the man sneakily pouring something out of a metal pitcher into the latte, shoulders shaking with what Jaehwan desperately hopes is laughter. “Are you drugging me?”   
“Absolutely not. It’s just a surprise.” Wonshik bows, making a huge procession out of handing Jaehwan his coffee.   
Jaehwan reluctantly brings the container to his lips, eyeing Wonshik’s expression. He looks like he’s trying to hold back a great, cheesing grin, like he’s a little kid that just found the coolest bug ever and wants to show it to his mom. Not that Jaehwan ever wants to be a mom. But, taking one for the team, Jaehwan takes a sip of the coffee.   
“Ah! I’ve been poisoned!” He makes a gagging face, holding the coffee out in front of him and pretending to choke. “I’m dying! Wonshik! Why- wait- wait-” cocking his head, Jaehwan tastes the drink. Sweet! Sweet! Euphoria! There‘s almond milk in the coffee! Oh, how Jaehwan has awaited this lovely day! His eyes roll back in his head and he lets out a moan that is borderline sexual. Okay it‘s sexual actually. “Holy shit date me you put almond milk in-”   
“Okay.”  
“What.” Jaehwan’s eyes pop open. What did he just say? And what did Wonshik just say?  
Wonshik’s face looks a little pink. “You said... date me? And I was like, yeah?”   
“Oh my god! Wonshik I was joking-” Jaehwan pauses, the wheels in his head turning- Wait, Wonshik? Wants to date? Him? “-But I’m actually so down do you really want to date me?”   
Wonshik’s face gets even redder. “Yes, uh, I was gonna ask you after you drank the almond milk cause I went out and bought if just for you but you kinda? Beat me to it?”   
“So you’re serious.”   
”Yes.”  
”Like you want to date me.”  
“Yes oh my gOD!”   
Jaehwan has to take a minute. “Wow okay um. Do you wanna? Go sleep and then get dinner or something?”   
“It’s almost five right?” Wonshik asks, and Jaehwan nods. “Let me just finish my shift at five and then we can go? There’s a diner around the block that has a crazy early-bird special.”   
He’s going on a date! Jaehwan is going on a date! His brain is malfunctioning a little bit. Date! Date! Date-   
“Oh shit I’m in my pajamas.” Jaehwan looks down at his clothes, stained sweatpants and a wrinkled memento shirt from the Grand Canyon. He’s even got a tacky ninteys windbreaker to top it all off.   
“Well I have a huge coffee stain all down my front and on my crotch.” Wonshik states, trying to keep his face straight but eventually bursting out laughing. True enough, when Jaehwan finally has an excuse to look at Wonshik’s crotch, he sees a large brown stain covering his light jeans. “I think I’m the reason the diner has low standards anyways. I always show up looking kinda nasty.”   
“We can be ugly together!” Jaehwan cheers, throwing his hands in the air and spilling his coffee. “Shit lemme get that give me your dishrag.”   
“No I’m the one working here c’mon stupid-” Wonshik cuts himself off when the door opens and a haggard man in a business suit shuffles in. “I mean hello what can I get for you sir?”   
Jaehwan snickers at Wonshik’s fake smile and goes behind the counter to rip the dishtowel out of hs waistband. “Hey fuck- _I mean is an espresso all?”_  
Jaehwan almost can’t control his laughter as he cleans up the spilt coffee from the floor. Wonshik glares at him while he makes the man’s espresso, but it’s a friendly glare. If that exists.   
And so, at five a.m. Jaehwan and Wonshik go on a date. It’s stupid, and Wonshik puts a gross amount of ketchup on his eggs, while Jaehwan gets scoffed at for ordering a side of Froot Loops, but it’s also perfect in the weirdest way.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> anyways yeah im gay for raken. im gay for vixx.  
> actually i'm just gay  
> how have i not written something for my ult group until now what the fuck  
> hmu at btsdadd on tumblr!  
> i love comments they make me so happy  
> also this is like a first draft im probably gonna edit it


End file.
